The Weird Week in Review

Man Hides in Attic for Christmas

A family in Plains Township, Pennsylvania were astonished when a stranger came down from their attic! 21-year-old Stanley Carter was staying with friends on the other side of the duplex until he disappeared December 19th. The friends had reported him as missing.

"When he came down from the attic, he was wearing my daughter's pants and my sweat shirt and sneakers," homeowner Stacy Ferrance said. "From what I gather, he was helping himself to my home, eating my food and stealing my clothes."
The Ferrance family had noticed strange sounds and missing items over the Christmas holiday. Police found him on Sunday, along with a note labeled "Stanley's Christmas List" which chronicled the stolen items.

No New Year's Eve Music for Zune Users

Thousands of people who listen to music on 30GB Zune players experienced a simultaneous meltdown on Wednesday. Microsoft blamed the problem on leap year. Since 2008 had an extra day. the players ended the year one day early. Users are urged to let the battery die and then recharge it. Zune Pass subscribers may also need to sync the device with a PC to "refresh the rights to the subscription content".

Giant Turquoise Flying Rabbit

An emergency call reported a man riding a giant turquoise flying rabbit in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England last week. Instead of dismissing the call as a prank or hallucination, police, firemen, paramedics, and even a helicopter were dispatched to the location. They found the turquoise rabbit, which was a large rabbit-shaped helium balloon. There was no one found with the balloon. Police are looking for anyone who could be missing such an object.

Chasing a Robber with Car Wash Spray

An armed robber wearing a mask confronted car wash employee Chris B. Truax at work in Portland, Oregon. Truax later said that he could tell the gun the robber used was broken or a fake. As the gunman helped himself to cash from the till, Truax grabbed a high-pressure washer wand from a pail and sprayed him. The dripping robber fled, and is still at large. Truax, for his trouble, was arrested on a 7-year-old DUI warrant when police investigated the incident.

Senior Citizen Grabs Attacker's 'Cahoochies'

An 88-year-old woman in Portland Oregon found a naked man had entered her home early Tuesday morning. According to Deputy Paul McRedmond of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, the man assaulted the woman by pushing her face into a chair.
"Before whatever plans the suspect might have had, the woman reached behind her and grabbed the man by the crotch, 'giving him a good squeeze', McRedmond said.

He added, "The man tore free and ran back out the way he had come in."

Police later arrested 46-year old Michael G. Dick, who was found by tracking his license plate number. The victim wishes to remain anonymous.

Man Sits on 40,040 seats in 48 Hours

British Army Sergeant Terry Twining has broken a record by sitting in all 40,040 seats of the King Baudouin national football stadium in Belgium in only 48 hours. He averaged one seat every two seconds! The stunt raised over Â£4,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Twining also donated 2,000 euros to a local hospital in Belgium. Twining performed his feat December 15th-17th, only weeks after triple hernia surgery. This is not Twining's first fundraising stunt- the Irish-born Twining has raised over Â£50,000 for worthy causes. Donations are still coming in at his website.

Baby born during trans-Atlantic flight to Boston

A woman from Uganda gave birth on a flight from Amsterdam to Boston on New Year's Eve. Two doctors who were on the flight assisted in the birth of the 6-pound girl named Sasha during the eight-hour flight. The mother was eight months pregnant and went into labor two hours before the plane landed. Mother and baby were taken to a hospital upon landing in Boston. Sasha is considered a Canadian citizen, as she was born over Canadian airspace, although there is no comment yet from Canada's immigration department.

Miss Cellania has written for mental_floss since 2007. She is also the managing editor at Neatorama and keeps a small humor blog called Miss Cellania. In her spare time, she is raising a frightening number of children in a small Kentucky town.